Surge in top-flight footballers facing bankruptcy as film and property investments turn sour

One of Britain's leading experts in 'affluent bankruptcies' has warned of a sharp rise in professional footballers and celebrities going bust.

Insolvency specialist Mark Sands, who is currently handling five bankruptcies of ex-Premiership stars, says insolvencies among former football stars are mounting despite the recent spiralling wages in the top flight.

'Quite often it's players who have
failed to readjust their spending and lifestyles when their earnings
fall towards the end of their career,' said Sands, head of the national bankruptcy team at RSM Tenon. 'But just as frequently it's because their investments have gone wrong.'

Many footballers, he said, have invested their money in films, largely because of the tax breaks, and these high-risk punts have failed to pay off.

THE PROFESSIONAL CLASSES NOW FACING THE SHAME OF BANKRUPTCY

It's not just footballers and popstars finding themselves swamped by debt.

There has also been a sharp rise in the number of solicitors being forced into bankruptcy.

RSM Tenon's Mark Sands has been startled by the trend, which he puts down to a collapse in house selling work - conveyancing - and a shake-up in the industry which has favoured big firms over small practices.

'The days of the local High Street solicitor being a Mr Big in the community - a Captain Mainwaring figure - seems to be becoming a thing of the past,' said Sands.

Others in the professional classes are also feeling the pinch. 'Many solicitors, doctors and even bankers have found themselves in
extreme financial difficulty because their salaries have slid,' Sands says, 'but have
continued to retain their lifestyle trappings.'

A case in point being that of
former England player and Aston Villa favourite Lee Hendrie.

The 34-year-old, who earned £24,000 a week at the peak of his
career, was declared bankrupt in January.

He owed HM Revenue &
Customs £200,000 in unpaid tax.

RSM Tenon said today: 'The debts have apparently been a result of a tax scheme Hendrie was advised to enter into which was rejected by HM Revenue And Customs, leaving an unpaid tax bill which led to the petition.

'Investments made during his peak years, in properties and film-related partnerships, went bad, leaving no money for Hendrie to turn to when times were tough.'

He had unsuccessfully tried to sell his
£1.7million home in Solihull but officials discovered in any case that
the mortgage exceeded the property's value.

Hendrie is still earning: after a stint in Indonesia, he now plays for the Blue Square BET
Premier team Kidderminster Harriers.

As an
industry, football seemingly sold a dummy to the recession that has seen most Britons battle the threat of unemployment, wage stagnation and high inflation.

The latest report by Deloitte, an accounting giant that analyses football finance, found that annual revenues for Premiership clubs had hit £2billlion for the first time and that the wage bill for the league rose 5 per cent to an incredible £1.4billion.

According to Sands that's the equivalent to an annual average salary of £1.5million per player.

However, over-spending is catching up with clubs now, evident in Portsmouth's return to administration and even Glaswegian giant Rangers are on the brink.

Sands added that there had been a bizarre situation where as wages have risen so have the number of personal insolvencies.

'We have certainly had an increase at RSM Tenon in the last three
years,' he said. 'We certainly expect to see even more in future.'

Faded glory: Royalties from the Anfield Rap were clearly not enough to sustain John Barnes of Liverpool & England

Other high-profile bankruptcies in the past five years have included John Arne Riise, ex Liverpool star, Brad Friedel, the Tottenham and USA
goalkeeper, former Manchester and Northern Ireland player Keith Gillespie and
former Liverpool and England winger John Barnes.

Kerry Katona ahead of her Big Brother money spinner last year

The company is also currently dealing with the bankruptcies of:

former Newcastle defender Celestine Babayaro, aged 32 and who earned up to £25,000 a week;

Eric Djemba-Djemba, formerly of Manchester United;

Carl Cort, who played at Newcastle;

and Jamaican Jason Euell, 33, who earned £6million over his career, which started at Wimbledon, but suffered from the collapse of a property investment.

The tendency for the 'rich' and famous to face money problems extends beyond football.

RSM has been dealing with the bankruptcy of four members of the pop group UB40 and is now handling the insolvency of Derrick McKenzie, the drummer from Jamiroquai.

His bankruptcy comes even though he, along with frontman Jay Kay, is only one of two members to have been with the band and earning since the early Nineties. The band has sold 40million records, generating revenues of £320million, not including tours and merchandise.

Fortunes of the famous: Jay K of Jamiroquai is known to enjoy his considerable wealth but drummer Derrick Mackenzie - second from right - was less savvy

Other high profile bankruptcies have included former Atomic Kitten singer and reality TV star Kerry Katona and TV presenter Miquita Oliver, aged 27, who faced a £170,000 unpaid tax bill.

Katona finally cleared her debts at the end of last year after being declared
bankrupt in 2008 - it normally only takes one year to be discharged but she had failed to comply with the order.